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Chimneys and Fireplaces

Johnson Chimney Service offers a wide range of safety and maintenance services to help care for your home. We inspect, clean, service and repair a number of areas vital to the structure or safety of your home. All chimneys should be inspected annually and swept when needed, to remove byproducts of combustion (such as soot and creosote), and to maintain draft so dangerous fumes can exit your home. Each cleaning also includes a safety inspection to reduce the risk of a chimney fire and insure proper conditions.   For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please be sure to contact us.

Chimney Cleaning

All chimneys are cleaned either top down or bottom up with our steel and/or nylon brushes. Each cleaning also includes a safety inspection to reduce the risk of a chimney fire and insure proper conditions.

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A dirty chimney with only a quarter inch of soot contains the highly flammable substance called creosote. A hot fire around 1000 degrees F. could easily ignite this substance into a roaring chimney fire. At the height of a chimney fire, the creosote can bum at temperatures exceeding 2000 degrees F. Flames and flying embers can easily land on the roof and ignite the wood framing of your home. The intense heat can cause the flue to crack or collapse thus causing the interior walls of your house to burst into flames.

Creosote in chimneys comes in several stages. In its flaky, soot form, it is easily brushed away leaving safe and clean flue walls. When it appears as hard, brittle deposits, the chimney sweep’s extra efforts in brushing will remove most of the buildup. But the nasty glazed variety is truly the most dangerous form, and the most difficult to remove from your home’s wood burning system. And until recently, glazed creosote was almost impossible to remove in many instances.

Chimney CheckGlazed creosote in your chimney is recognizable by its dense, shiny tar-like appearance. This unpleasant substance is basically wood tar which has become baked onto the walls of the chimney or flue lining. Once it gets burning in your chimney, it is extremely difficult to extinguish.

Chimney Repair

Johnson Chimney Service is highly experienced and qualified for all masonry repairs and construction, including clay brick, concrete block and stone, including repointing (tuck pointing) of deteriorated mortar joints, removal and replacement of cracked or distressed brick, shelf angle and lintel replacement/restoration, and the repair and installation of horizontal and vertical expansion joints to allow movement in masonry walls, as well preserving masonry facades.

We also are proud to offer the FireGuard ceramic resurfacing and joint repair system.

For more information on FireGuard, please click Here

Chimney Relining

Johnson Chimney Service can completely reline both furnace and fireplace chimneys.

Chimney  Caps

We install stainless steel (lifetime warranty) rain and animal guards for all size chimneys.

Chimney Cap Damper

Save up to 30% on your energy bills by having the latest in technology in a chimney damper that properly seals. The “Ice Breaker” top sealing chimney cap-damper keeps the heat in your home in the winter and the cold air in your home in the summer. If your chimney is not properly sealed, it’s like leaving your front door open all year long! That could be $350 – $500 going up your chimney per year. These stainless steal cap-dampers come with a lifetime guarantee.

Fireplace Repair

Our professional repair services include flashing, mortar crown, point up, and tuck pointing, as well as firebox walls and dampers, both major and minor.

Gas Fireplace Repair

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Get your natural gas fireplace repaired before we get into the cold winter months.

Annual maintenance for your gas fireplace will help avoid safety hazards.

There are more, but these are the six most noticable warning signs that your gas fireplace, gas log insert or gas log set is a troubled unit that is in need of service.

  1. Soot build-up on anything
  2. Foul or suspicious odor coming from unit*
  3. Film, discoloration or etching on glass
  4. Slow or no ifnition when unit is turned on
  5. Unit shuts itself off
  6. Unit has no usage or service history**

*All major gas appliances, including gas fireplaces, should be serviced annually as recommended by all major gas fireplace product manufacturers. Gas fireplaces are gas-fueled appliances and, as such, can be dangerous- and even hazardous- if not handled properly and if not serviced regularly by a qualified technician.

** Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an ordorless, poisonous gas formed by a gas furnace or gas fireplace that’s not operating properly. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, or if your carbon monoxide detector sounds and alarm, immediately evacuate the home and call 911from another location. If you do notice a suspectodor coming from your gas fireplace, call a qualified service and repair technician promptly.

Gas Fireplace Maintenance

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Johnson Chimney Gas Fireplace Checklist:

  • make sure fan is operating properly
  • gas pilot safety system
  • main burners for proper ignition and combustion
  • adequate combustion and ventilation air flow
  • venting and chimney draw, where accessible
  • Clean glass with recommended glass cleaner and inspect door gasket
  • Clean equipment exterior
  • Clean the pilot burner and main burners

Refractory Panel Replacement for Pre-fabricated Fireplaces

We are pleased to make available an innovation in custom-made refractory panels and eliminate the typically long wait for special orders by other chimney sweeps. A “Cut to Fit” refractory panel is made from the highest quality materials available, with maximum life in mind. Every refractory panel is customed cut for your fireplace.  Contact us today!

Safety Inspections

Whether you are buying a home or selling one, it is imperative to inspect the condition of the chimneys. The safety conditions are frequently overlooked and the consequences could be of great detriment. It is our intent, that with preventive maintenance, our customers enjoy a safe and worry free environment.

Some homes do not have a fireplace chimney but every home has a furnace chimney which vents carbon monoxide gases. It is very important to have your furnace chimney inspected for proper ventilation every one or two years. The inspection should include proper review of the flashing, flue pipe, and chimney cap. Minor repairs that are overlooked may lead to bigger more expensive repairs in the future. Through preventive maintenance, one may save much time and expense.